Atahualpa Yupanqui was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer.
13 Facts About Atahualpa Yupanqui
2.
Atahualpa Yupanqui is considered the most important Argentine folk musician of the 20th century.
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Atahualpa Yupanqui's father was a mestizo of Quechua and Basque origins, while his mother was born in the Basque country.
4.
Atahualpa Yupanqui's family moved to the Northwest city of Tucuman when he was nine.
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Atahualpa Yupanqui became politically active and joined the Communist Party of Argentina.
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In 1935, Atahualpa Yupanqui paid his first visit to Buenos Aires; his compositions were growing in popularity, and he was invited to perform on the radio.
7.
Atahualpa Yupanqui immediately signed a contract with Le Chant du Monde, the recording company that published his first LP in Europe, Minero Soy.
8.
Atahualpa Yupanqui broke with the Communist Party, which made it easier for him to book radio performances.
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Atahualpa Yupanqui alternated between houses in Buenos Aires and Cerro Colorado, Cordoba province.
10.
Atahualpa Yupanqui returned regularly to Argentina and appeared in Argentinisima II in 1973, but these visits became less frequent when the military dictatorship of Jorge Videla came to power in 1976.
11.
In February 1968, Atahualpa Yupanqui was named a Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France by the Ministry of Culture of that country, in honor of 18 years work enriching the literature of the French nation.
12.
In 1989, an important cultural center of France, the University of Nanterre, asked Atahualpa Yupanqui to write the lyrics of a cantata to commemorate the Bicentennial of the French Revolution.
13.
Atahualpa Yupanqui died in Nimes, France in 1992 at the age of 84; his remains were cremated and dispersed on his beloved Colorado Hill on 8 June 1992.